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My Perfect Dinner Party: England & Middlesex legend Angus Fraser

Widely regarded as one of the most consistent bowlers of his generation, Angus Fraser’s unerring accuracy and nagging line and length helped him amass 886 wickets during a first-class career that was spent entirely at his beloved Middlesex County Cricket Club. The archetypal English seamer took 177 wickets for his country in forty-six Test matches at a superbly miserly average of 27.32, and would have certainly added to that haul were it not for a troubling hip injury and a confusing selection policy during the 1990s.

One of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year in 1996, Fraser made a seamless transition from player to cricket correspondent for The Independent in 2002 and was a welcome addition to the TMS commentary box, before returning to Middlesex to take the reins as Managing Director of Cricket at the beginning of 2009. Having represented his country all around the world, most successfully in the West Indies where he registered his career best figures of 8-53, CellarVie Wines tracked down the 6ft 6inch Lancashire born legend, who was awarded an MBE in 1998, to find out who he would invite to his perfect dinner party, where he would hold this hypothetical get-together, and the wine he would serve…

Name: Angus Fraser

Company: MIDDLESEX CCC

Job Title: Managing Director of Cricket

Which three people, dead or alive, would you invite to your perfect dinner party [and why]?

Dennis Lillee: A hero of mine, always great value and extremely amusing.

Julia Roberts: She would be a more than welcome sight and, obviously, be fascinating company.

Stephen Fry: There would be no shortage of interesting and amusing conversation.

Your perfect location [and why]?

There would be a few restaurants that I have been to which are at great locations.

BBQ Spatchcock Piri-Piri Chicken

Summer has come to a close and autumn is well and truly on its way. Blustering winds, cooler temperatures and swiftly shortening days mean it will soon be time to wrap up warm and to make the most of the wonderful autumn produce on offer. Time to say goodbye to those fresh, summer whites and replace them with the warmer, more robust reds frequently associated with colder temperatures.

26.08.15

What to drink with Fish Pie?

Fish Pie is a quintessentially British recipe. Easy to make and absolutely delicious, it is also a great dinner party dish - with a limited amount of last minute preparations needed it’s a winner in my book! However, where do you start when matching a fish pie with wine?

24.07.15

Five Ways to Open a Bottle of Wine Without a Corkscrew

For that moment when you find yourself without a corkscrew and unable to open that bottle of wine; here are five ways to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew. Obviously, if you do have a corkscrew to hand, it is a lot easier to go down the more traditional route…

16.10.14

Nine Ways to Reuse Your Wine Corks

Unless you live in California, where there is an official wine cork recycling program, take inspiration from these ideas and drink your wine guilt-free, knowing you can now recycle both bottle and cork. Alternatively, for those of us who are less environmentally inclined, some of these aesthetically pleasing creations make for great centre pieces…how about that for an alternative motive?

07.09.12

Seven Deadly Glasses by Kacper Hamilton

While by no means new, CellarVie Wines could only marvel at the creative brilliance of London-based designer Kacper Hamilton and his marvellous ‘Seven Deadly Glasses’. Whilst floating aimlessly on the worldwide web during our lunch hour we stumbled upon these beautiful wine glasses, inspired of course by the seven deadly sins; lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride.

25.09.14

Luke Donald: Renaissance Man

Some of the world’s finest golfers have long augmented their iron work with the wine business but few have done so with as much vigour and success as Luke Donald. Joining an impressive number of golf-and-grape connoisseurs – most notably Ernie Els, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus - the supremely elegant Luke Donald Collection, which includes a beautifully handcrafted Bordeaux blend made in Napa Valley’s most prestigious vineyards, has its origins in a longstanding friendship between the former world number one and Bill Terlato, President and CEO of Terlato Wines International.

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the humble wasp and their more aggressive cousin the hornet, carry yeast that is responsible for the fermentation of wine, beer and bread.read more

Mauricio González-López de Carrizosa Gordon represents the fifth generation of the González’ family to be involved with Jerez’s leading Sherry producer, González Byass, and has been chairman of the world renowned wine company since ...read more

Following our recent interview with Nederburg winemaker Razvan Macici, CellarVie Wines pressed the jovial Romanian and current star of South African Master Chef to reveal his hypothetical perfect dinner party, complete with three guests ...read more

“I think the point about a good dinner party is that you want to bring together interesting people and you want to have good conversation.” The CEO of The Fladgate Partnership Adrian Bridge told CellarVie Wines when pressed to reveal his ...read more